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about her relationship with Ian. Certainly she had displayed her very worst characteristics to him and at the very worst time. It was not impossible that he would seek some kind of guarantee that she would be a more docile wife than the termagant she seemed. It was also possible that he would wish to punish her by letting her dangle. If she went ahead with inviting the guests and preparing for the feasting, he could add punitive clauses to the contract and expect she would agree to save herself the shame of a canceled wedding. |
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Alinor had sent her messenger off to Ian just after the prime. She watched the sun flicker in and out of the clouds, rising toward its midday high and then beginning to drop lower in the sky. She knew how long it would take to ride to the farm where Ian had settled. She knew how long it would take for a man to sign five documents. She knew how long it would take for the messenger to ride back. That time came and passed. Alinor closed herself in her bedchamber to think what next to do and to save herself from murdering someone in her impotent rage. |
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She felt a fool, of course, when the messenger did arrive, and she realized her careful calculations had not allowed time either for Ian to read the contract or for him to write the letter the messenger was proffering to her. Nor, she thought wryly, as she opened the letter, had she considered that he might not be at the farm. Ian's purpose, after all, had been to hunt outlaws, not to wait for the contract to be delivered to him. Her reaction to her own silliness was so strong that she did not even suffer from doubts of Ian's intentions when she realized the messenger carried nothing but the letter. It read: |
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"To Alinor, Lady of Roselynde, greetings. I have been well pleased with what you sent to me. Having added my name and my seal to yours, I have sent all to Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, that he might sign as witness. From thence my man will go on to |
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